U.S. Tech Worker Shortage Looms, Study Warns

Tech-industry backed group says U.S. is losing the global battle for tech talent to countries that welcome skilled workers with open arms. But not everyone is convinced of a talent shortage.

If the U.S. does not adjust its immigration policies to make it easier for foreign-born tech workers to reside in the country, it could fall behind the rest of the world in growth and innovation, say the authors of a new study that's sure to provoke controversy.

"There is a significant gap between the kind of graduates the U.S. is producing and what the American economy needs today and in the future," said officials at the Partnership for A New American Economy, in a statement. "U.S. companies are hungry for talent with degrees in STEM [Science, Technology, Math, and Engineering]--these jobs are increasing three times faster than jobs in the rest of the economy. However, these positions are the hardest to fill because of the dearth of native-born Americans with these degrees."

The group's study, provocatively titled "Not Coming To America," said that only 4.4% of U.S.-born undergraduates are enrolled in STEM programs. That compares poorly with 33.9% for students in Singapore, 31.2% for those in China, 12.4% for Germany, and 6.1% in the U.K. As a result, the U.S. will face a shortage of 224,000 hi-tech workers by 2018, the study says.

According to the group, which is backed by leaders from tech, media, and financial giants, including Microsoft's Steve Ballmer and JP Morgan Chase's Jamie Dimon, as well as municipal leaders like New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, that means the country needs to open up its immigration policies to make up for the shortfall.

"We are quickly losing our edge as other countries adopt smarter, economic-driven immigration policies. The future is on the line--now is the time to reform the system and welcome the workers who will continue our success as the world's leading economy," said Bloomberg, in statement. The Partnership for New York City also backed the study.

The study's authors said the U.S. needs to take several steps to ensure that the supply of tech talent meets future demand.

They called on Congress and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to establish a new visa category for foreign entrepreneurs looking to launch startups, to set aside more H-1B visas and green cards for foreign students enrolled in STEM programs at U.S. institutions, and to offer tax breaks for American tech workers who have moved abroad to encourage them to return home.

Everyone here knows the "skilled labor shortage" is a LIE. There are absolutely no supporting facts. And indeed the US has an abundance of professionals with every skills, education and intelligence for all available jobs.

Yet, in politics FACTS are not reality. And indeed massive expansion in outsourcing and unlimited green cards for foreign STEM graduates -- regardless of US employment -- has now advanced from committee and onto the Senate floor. And this after Sen. Orrin Hatch stripped even minimum worker protection for the benefit of massively profitable and foreign-owned outsourcing firms.

Anyone who thinks that their career is not directly at risk is just plain foolish.

Yet RIGHT NOW our voices are being drowned under a tsunami of cash and lobbying by corporate and foreign interests. If YOU are not actively WRITING YOUR CONGRESSMEN, then just put a gun to your head.

YOU need to be writing strongly and ceaselessly if we are to overcome the hundreds of millions corporations are spending to buy our government.

of course, it's exactly who you would think would be behind it, spouting off their bullshit. Microsoft, the communist mayor of L.A. pro-H1b types, etc, etc, etc. - complete with all of their made-up "facts" and "studies" to prove that letting in scab workers is the best possible thing for America...yeah right...

If there is a shortage then the best way to counter is to reduce or entirely drop tution from STEM programs while at the same time remove all the clutter from STEM programs. No other country has so many non-subject courses in their university curricula as the US. Undergrads in other countries do not take history or biology courses when in engineering programs. It is a total waste of student's time and money. The US government, industry, and universities can fix this issue within a matter of weeks if they really wanted to, but it is cheaper to get foreign workers that are better trained and can be kicked to the curb after a few years. It all comes down to staying competitive long term or make a quick buck. Take a guess as to what the focus is in an environment driven exclusively by quarterly numbers.

Yes, these Republicans especially are good at lying. They bring in professional liars from Madison Avenue to lie for them professionally. They know that if you tell propaganda enough that people will believe it. They government is good enough at it that they lead the way with business right behind them. It is high time that we stop getting victimized by them!

I have 2 master degrees in technology and cannot find a job for a year and a half, and they are considering bringing people in? Are they insane? I spent good money to get those degrees and for them to try to pull the rug out from under our feet is the utmost in hypocrisy. The IT people need to get together and form unions of professional societies that do not take this crap from business or the government who screws the American people over just as bad. It is time that we straightened them all out and stopped them from turning this into a country like where these foreigners come from. Companies are spoiled rotten now and should be shown that there is no such thing as a free lunch with labor!

I fully agree with the fact that there is no lack of technical talent in the US. We have more than enough, but they are interested in a reasonable salary, not slave wages with no benefits.

By the way, one thing that most of these high tech companies don't seem to grasp is that the bulk of their market is right here in the US. If you keep giving the jobs to imported workers who buy nothing but the bare minimum to subsist (and I have seen this time and time again), eventually these companies will go out of business for lack of paying customers.

So how about using a little legal judo in this case? Let's have a significant number of out of work US techies apply for a bunch of positions with the companies who are giving "courtesy interviews" to make peace with HR. They know full well that the position has already been filled by an imported worker (at a rock bottom salary of course). Once we have all been turned down, we file a class action suit against the company for false advertising and anything else that a talented lawyer can think of.

Of course we need to make sure that the level of the asked for damages easily exceeds the "savings" that the company will accrue with the imported worker. These companies need to have an incentive to keep Americans employed and the Almighty Dollar seems to be the only thing that they really understand. If enough of these class action suits are filed, maybe, just maybe, these companies will come to their senses.

Shortage shouting is an IT industry tradition. It's absolute nonsense. If there is a deficit of skills, it is because of corporate decisions to offshore jobs and transition remaining American workers into analyst type positions (claiming that hard tech skills are commoditized skills).

Corporations are dependent on exploiting foreign workers, and they are able to suppress wages because they can limit foreign workers access to the general labor market (a near monopoly on their labor) while American workers can negotiate for better wages and benefits because of their ability to sell their labor to the highest bidder.

Indentured servitude and the implied or direct threat of deportation goes a very long way in the negotiating process. Don't fool yourself - the H-1b program is a form of indentured servitude and it is an insult to the free market.

The H-1b visa program needs to be abolished once and for all. It's created a second class group of workers and has reduced earning potential in STEM careers. It's no wonder college students are showing less interest in STEM degrees, and of those who get STEM degrees half still pursue other professions.

If there is a shortage of skills, only 28% of IT workers polled received any form of IT training last year as a benefit. That is just shameful. These guys have some serious chutzpah asking for more foreign workers for a shortage they created, if it exists at all, and most won't spend a dime on training their own employees.

As far as I'm concerned, anyone claiming a shortage and expecting the government to provide foreign (docile) labor while investing nothing in building these skills can go jump in a lake.

This study is biased and pushed by foreign outsourcing companies like TCS and Infosys who make over 35% profit at the expense of US employees. They have caused a US wage drop and increased unemployment. With exaggerate resumes, people on B-1 visitor visas tax free, they look like a less expensive alternative to US companies trying to save money. However in the long run they get poor service, loose their good employees to incompetent foreigners and will soon be looking for other alternatives.